SAM PRENDERGAST will start his first Six Nations Championship games against England this weekend.
The Leinster star was handed the number ten jersey by interim boss Simon Easterby as the men in green kick-off their campaign at Aviva Stadium against their fierce rivals.
The young star starts despite concerns over an injury picked up during training in Ireland’s camp in the Algarve earlier this week.
Kildare native Prendergast made his senior debut as a second half replacement for Ireland’s Nations Series test match vs Argentina on 15 November 2024.
The 21-year-old has kept the ten shirt for club and country ever since as he prepares for the biggest test of his career against Steve Borthwick’s side on Saturday evening.
Sam has been crucial for Leinster since his emergence as successor to now Ireland assistant coach Johny Sexton.
He initially played as a scrum-half at Newbridge College in the Leinster Schools Senior Cup before transitioning to fly-half.
After school he attended Trinity College before lining out for Lansdowne RFC in the AIL.
He joined the Leinster Academy in 2022 before making his senior debut in 2023, earning player of the match honours in doing so.
Sam’s brother Cian plays for Connacht, and has earned four caps for Ireland since his debut in 2022.
24-year-old Cian also attended Newbridge College but was told in April 2020 that there would be no place for him in the Leinster academy.
But Connacht legend Eric Elwood signed up the lock and back-rower for their academy.
Sam doesn’t share a lot about his relationship with girlfriend, Anna.
The talented out-half keeps his private life largely away for the public eye, and his 40,000-plus strong Instagram following.
Prendergast is an army baby. Both his parents, mother Ciara and father Mark, met while in the Irish military.
As a five-year-old child – he and his family, including older brother Cian, lived in the Middle East.
His father is now retired but had a high-ranking role as lieutenant colonel as a UN peacekeeper, a job that took the family overseas.
They lived in Syria before the current war broke out in 2011 as part of the Arab Spring.
Sam’s family will be watching closely on Saturday at 4:45pm when Ireland kick-off against England in Dublin.
